Whitley Tower

Has been described as a Possible Fortified Manor House, and also as a Possible Pele Tower

There are no visible remains

NameWhitley Tower
Alternative NamesWhitleye
Historic CountryNorthumberland
Modern AuthorityNorth Tyneside
1974 AuthorityTyne and Wear
Civil ParishWhitley Bay

Gilbert de Whitley applied to King Edward III to fortify his manor house. He received his licence, and built a tower, probably demolishing the manor house, and building on the same site. It is listed in the 1415 survey, but not in 1541. A couple of very old maps have a tower marked on them, but not with any great precision. It appears to have been a little inland from the Table Rocks, perhaps just south of the roundabout where the A191 meets the A193 road, close to the old North Shields Waterworks. (PastScape)

The Northumberland County History records that "Gilbert de Whitley received royal licence on April 9th, 1345, to crenellate his manor house at Whitley. The tower recurs in the list of castles and fortalices drawn up in 1415, but probably soon fell into disuse, as there is no mention of it in the survey of 1538, and no tradition survives as to its site. Gilbert de Whitley was an expert military architect, holding the office in 1356, of master and supervisor of the king's work in the castle of Newcastle". A manor-house is marked in the centre of the south row on the first edition Ordnance Survey map - the tower could have been its predecessor, but other sites are also possible, such as on the north side in the area of the present Whitley House. (Tyne and Wear HER)

Gatehouse Comments

There seems to have only been one manor in medieval Whitley, subinfeudated from Tynemouth Priory. There is no reason to believe the manor house (and/or Gilbert's Tower) would have been away from the township centre and church. The given map reference is that marked Whitley Hall on the 1st edition OS map.

- Philip Davis

Not scheduled

Not Listed

Historic England (PastScape) Defra or Monument number(s)
County Historic Environment Record
OS Map Grid ReferenceNZ355720
Latitude55.0419082641602
Longitude-1.44595003128052
Eastings435500
Northings572070
HyperLink HyperLink HyperLink

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Books

  • Dodds, John F., 1999, Bastions and Belligerents (Newcastle upon Tyne: Keepdate Publishing) p. 483
  • Salter, Mike, 1997, The Castles and Tower Houses of Northumberland (Malvern: Folly Publications) p. 109
  • Emery, Anthony, 1996, Greater Medieval Houses of England and Wales Vol. 1 Northern England (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press)
  • Jackson, M.J.,1992, Castles of Northumbria (Carlisle) p. 155
  • King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol. 2 p. 355
  • Graham, Frank, 1976, The Castles of Northumberland (Newcastle-upon-Tyne: Frank Graham) p. 351
  • Long, B., 1967, Castles of Northumberland (Newcastle-upon-Tyne) p. 172
  • Craster, H.H.E. (ed), 1907, Northumberland County History (Newcastle-upon-Tyne) Vol. 8 p. 395 online copy
  • Bates, C.J., 1891, Border Holds of Northumberland (London and Newcastle: Andrew Reid) p. 10, 16 (Also published as the whole of volume 14 (series 2) of Archaeologia Aeliana view online)
  • Turner, T.H. and Parker, J.H., 1859, Some account of Domestic Architecture in England (Oxford) Vol. 3 Part 2 p. 414 online copy

Journals

  • Hodgson, J.C., 1916, 'List of Ruined Towers, Chapels, etc., in Northumberland; compiled about 1715 by John Warburton, Somerset Herald, aided by John Horsley' Archaeologia Aeliana (ser3) Vol. 13 p. 10 abridged transcription
  • 1891, The Monthly Chronicle of North Country Lore and Legend p. 22
  • Bates, C.J., 1891, 'Border Holds of Northumberland' Archaeologia Aeliana (ser2) Vol. 14 p. 10, 16 online copy
  • (Longstaffe, W.H.D.), 1860, 'The New Castle upon Tyne (with illustrations)' Archaeologia Aeliana (ser2) Vol. 4 p. 50 online copy

Primary Sources

  • 1415, Nomina Castrorum et Fortaliciorum infra Comitatum Northumbrie online transcription
  • Maxwell Lyte, H.C. (ed), 1902, Calendar of Patent Rolls Edward III (1343-45) Vol. 6 p. 446 online copy